# Chapter 67
“Whether the negotiation will work out, or if they’re trustworthy people, I don’t know, but…”
Arden scribbled words in the corner of the notebook.
*Things to ask Pini:*
*1. When the train stops and for how long*
*2. What the station attendant looked like*
It was terrible handwriting that contrasted with Rite’s neat and tidy script. Rite furrowed his brows to read the crooked writing in the notebook. Having seen it so often, he could read Arden’s handwriting better than most people could, but that didn’t mean he could recognize it at a glance.
“It would be best to immediately take the fastest train to Idelven as soon as we arrive in Menden. Since Menden isn’t a place where trains come very frequently… In the worst case, we might have to spend a day in Menden.”
“It would be fine to stay overnight for one day.”
Rite muttered quietly. Arden, who had been looking at the map, raised his gaze to look at Rite. Rite’s face, as he carefully studied the map, didn’t particularly seem excited, but he also looked too carefree to be a prospective traitor going to kill the Emperor.
Rite had a habit of biting his fingers whenever he concentrated. He had bitten them so much that the teeth marks were clear. Arden gently removed the hand from Rite’s mouth. Rite glanced at Arden and then lowered his hand beneath the table.
Arden sank into thought. He wanted to ask if Rite properly understood the weight of what he was preparing to do. While Arden was pondering, Rite spoke up.
“Have you been to Menden before, Arden?”
“I have been there.”
Arden recalled the time he was being escorted. He wanted to remember what Menden was like, but nothing in particular came to mind. With handcuffs on his wrists and knights on either side of him as he moved, he couldn’t help but attract people’s attention. He had pretended not to notice the stares and only looked at the ground while walking, so he hadn’t properly seen his surroundings.
“What about Idelven?”
“I’ve been there too.”
“What about Rosmunt?”
“…There too.”
“And you’ve obviously been to Moran.”
Rite twitched his eyebrows disapprovingly. Arden didn’t understand the purpose of the questions and tilted his head slightly. Of course, I’ve stopped by all the places we need to go now.
The route they had planned was the fastest way to travel by train from Moran to Winterishe. Naturally, the route taken when he was escorted from Moran to Winterishe as a traitor was the same one.
“I want to go to places that even Arden hasn’t been to before.”
Rite mumbled quietly, as if talking to himself. Arden was dumbfounded by those words.
“We’re not going on a vacation right now.”
“I know. We’re running an errand, right?”
An errand. Arden didn’t particularly like that term either, but he didn’t want to fight over something like this. The journey was still long, so there would be time for Rite to gradually come to terms with reality. If too much weight was suddenly placed on him, it might suffocate Rite.
Rite tried to raise his left hand to the table but lowered it again. Instead, Rite’s tongue peeked out. As if he needed to be biting something to feel comfortable, he was now biting his own tongue.
Good heavens. Arden pressed his lips together. Before his astonishment, he felt like laughter might burst out. Arden deliberately didn’t point out the habit. He hoped Rite wouldn’t correct it.
“When all this is over, let’s visit other places too.”
The tongue quickly found its way back. Rite’s finger slid down the map from Moran to below it. Arden’s gaze also shifted from Rite’s lips to the table.
“Kamalon where Pini is would be nice, or Alsi where there’s a sea would be good too.”
“…”
“I heard Alsi has a large port too. Have you been there?”
“No.”
“Then Alsi would be good. Have you ever seen the sea, Arden?”
Arden shook his head. He was born and raised in Kamalon and lived briefly as an engineer in Moran. After that, he was exiled to the Winter Forest and couldn’t leave for a long time. Although he had traveled quite a lot from the southern part of the Empire to the northernmost region, he hadn’t actually visited many places.
At Rite’s words, Arden also imagined the sea. His meager imagination could only picture something like a large lake. The sea, wider than that vast lake and endless. A place with large ships and bustling villages. Rite standing there in light clothing, without even wearing a hat.
Just thinking about that made Arden’s heart beat faster for some reason.
“…If circumstances are good, then… we could visit other countries besides the Artalis Empire. The kingdoms nearby would be nice, or we could even go further away.”
At Arden’s words, Rite looked up and met his eyes. His face seemed unable to grasp what he’d heard, as if he’d never imagined such a thing before, but soon he looked into space and fell into thought.
What would Rite’s ideal place look like? Arden wondered as he gazed at Rite. A warm place that isn’t cold. A place where snow no longer falls and flowers bloom abundantly. Although Arden didn’t know much about geography either, it seemed like he would enjoy searching for such places together with Rite.
“Just the two of us.”
“Yes. The two of us.”
No, that’s what he wished for.
* * *
While waiting for Pini’s reply, Rite started packing. The probability that they wouldn’t return once they left this place was high. It meant that their daily life in this cabin could be their last.
‘Only pack what’s absolutely necessary. If we need something, we can buy it later.’
He was pretty sure that’s what he had said. Arden narrowed his eyes as he leaned against Rite’s doorframe. Rite’s luggage looked less like what was needed for a journey and more like moving house.
“Are you really… taking all of that?”
“Yes.”
Rite answered with a face that seemed to ask what the problem was.
The large backpack was so bulging it couldn’t even be properly closed, and beside it were six bundles of outer clothing woven together, filled with items and tied tightly, yet the answer was still yes? Arden didn’t hide his bewilderment.
“I still haven’t packed everything yet.”
There’s more? Arden looked at Rite with disbelieving eyes. Perhaps it was because he had never packed before. Arden decided to explain calmly again.
“If you take this much, it’ll be too inconvenient. Take everything out and only pack what’s really necessary.”
“These are all necessary.”
Arden shook his head and approached the luggage bundles. He opened the backpack that looked like it might burst, and from the opening, things that should be removed overflowed.
“Why are you taking books? Take them out.”
“To read when I get bored.”
“Why the wooden knife?”
“I might need it someday.”
“You won’t. Throw it away.”
“Throw it away?”
Rite’s face crumpled in an instant. Though he looked angry, Arden didn’t pay attention and continued removing items. The “carving that might be a goblin or a teddy bear” came into Arden’s hand.
“Why are you taking this? It’s useless.”
“Not all necessary items are things you need for a purpose.”
What nonsense is this? Arden stopped in amazement and looked at Rite. Rite, with eyes full of dissatisfaction, began stuffing the removed items back into the bag. He pressed them in so tightly that it seemed like the bag might burst.
“If you don’t need it, how can it be a necessary item?”
“It’s necessary because it’s precious to me.”
“Why don’t you just take the tree house with you then?”
“If I could, I’d like to take the entire cabin.”
Arden finally burst into laughter. Why are you laughing? Rite grumbled discontentedly. You still act exactly like you did when you were young. Arden discovered the image of an 11-year-old boy in the appearance of a fully grown adult.
That sight was both welcome and pleasing to Arden. It seemed to erase the loneliness he sometimes felt when looking at Rite’s grown figure from behind. It felt like proof that Rite was still exactly as he remembered.
Rite sighed and looked around. His purple eyes scanned the items that hadn’t yet made it into the bag. Arden could see the regret in that gaze.
With such attachment to possessions, how could he intend to kill the Emperor? The thought suddenly occurred to Arden, and his smile stiffened. Arden didn’t want to take away precious things from Rite either.
“…If you don’t want to throw them away.”
“Let’s organize Arden’s luggage first. I’ll help you.”
Rite cut off Arden’s words as soon as he started speaking. Arden stopped and stared at Rite. As if unaware of the gaze, Rite didn’t look at Arden and stood up.
“I don’t need help.”
“I’ve been the only one packing so far. I haven’t seen Arden organizing his things.”
“Because I don’t have much to pack.”
Rite smirked and turned his head toward Arden. As if. The words contained in his eyes were clearly visible.
“I bet it’ll be different when I actually see it?”
Rite passed by Arden and left the room. Arden followed a beat slower. The place Rite headed was Arden’s room. Standing in the middle of the room, Rite turned in place, scanning the interior.
“Are you going to throw all of this away?”
“I’m leaving it behind.”
“This? This too?”
Rite pulled out thick books one by one from the bookshelf and waved them around. Arden just nodded indifferently. They were all books he had already read, and even if he took them, they seemed more likely to be a hindrance than a help.
“What about this?”
Rite’s hand picked up a transparent case sitting on the bookshelf. A small front tooth rolled around inside the case. Arden’s drooping eyelids flew open, and his eyes widened. One of Rite’s eyebrows lifted playfully.
“Throw it away?”
“…”
“In the trash…”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
Arden urgently reached for the case in Rite’s hand. His fingertips touched the smooth surface before it moved away. Rite raised his hand high and pulled up the corners of his mouth.
